Chile's presidential election is headed to a runoff between Communist Party leader Jeannette Jara and hard-right candidate José Antonio Kast, after neither secured the required 50% threshold in November 16’s first round of voting.

Jara led with 26.85% of the vote with 99.79% of results confirmed, narrowly ahead of Kast's 23.93%. The results largely aligned with pre-election polling, though Franco Parisi of the Party of the People surprised by capturing third place with 19.71%, followed by Johannes Kaiser (13.94%) and Evelyn Matthei (12.46%).

Following his advance to the runoff, Kast immediately urged Chile's fractured right-wing to rally behind his candidacy, framing the December vote as a choice between competing visions for the country's future.

"It will be the most important election of our generation, a true referendum between two models of society — the current one that has led Chile to destruction, stagnation, violence," he told supporters at his election night rally, contrasting his platform promoting "freedom, hope and progress."

Jara struck a different tone at her rally in downtown Santiago, telling supporters: "This is a great country. Don't let fear freeze your hearts."

The contrasting candidates represent sharply different ideological poles. Kast, a devout Catholic and former lawmaker opposed to same-sex marriage and abortion, has maintained his tough stance on law and order. Jara has worked on project moderation, pledging to leave the Communist Party if elected in an effort to broaden her appeal beyond the left-wing base that delivered her the primary victory.

Representing a unified left and centre-left coalition and a former labour minister under President Gabriel Boric, Jara positioned herself as a candidate "with a proven ability to forge agreements", citing Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as an exemplary world leader.

Kast advocated for "responsible gun ownership," revealing he owns "a revolver with five bullets," and proposed creating "a special prison for foreign criminals" following the controversial El Salvador model. He lavished praise on Argentine President Javier Milei and supported potential US military intervention in Venezuela, "but not with Chilean troops."

"We will definitely see Jara and Kast after today being even more moderate, talking about things that voters care about and trying to compete for the centre," Rodolfo Disi, a political scientist at Chile's Adolfo Ibáñez University, told AP.

The election now heads to a second round on December 14, with a runoff between Kast and Jara. Analysts believe Kast’s and Jara’s abilities to appeal to moderate voters will be key in determining what has been a tight race.